Absent Days Aren't Free Days!

When a student visits my office for academic counseling, I always pull up a copy of the student's schedule on my computer. Once in a while I notice that the student is sitting in my office when he or she should be sitting in class. The conversation that follows goes something like this:

Me: "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

Student: "Yes, but I am allowed three free days off."

Me: "There's no such thing!"

Instructors often allow students to miss a few days of class, and they will state this allowance in a syllabus, because instructors know that emergencies happen. The important thing to note is that those three or so days are set aside for emergencies; they're not free pass, sleep-in days! Skipping class and using up those allowances that fit within the teacher's guidelines will cost you in the long run.

First of all, you always miss a lot of valuable, testable information when you miss a class. It's hard to catch up from that!

Secondly, when you use up your absent days, you are asking for trouble. A flat tire, a bad cold, or a family situation will certainly pop up to cause you to go over your limit of absences.

If you are "allowed" a certain number of absences in a class, don't think of these as "free pass" days to be used at your leisure. This is a recipe for disaster.

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